I know this is a long shot but I have to ask, just in case. I can't believe that I'm the only one this has happened to.

Has anybody else gotten a face and upper chest sunburn when you have NOT been out in the sun? This has happened to me twice this year, both times on cold, calm, cloudy days (in January and this past Saturday) and both times, the burn pattern has mimiced a flash radiation burn of some kind...it's flat, bright red, stinging and itchy, and it peels just like a sunburn.

The outline of my open shirt collar against my neck and chest is obvious, the skin under my necklace medallion is pale compared to the red skin around it, and one side of my face and forehead is more burnt than the other side. The sunburn sensitivity even extends up beyond my hairline.

I have not done anything to cause this...no heat exposure, no microwave exposure that I know of, no bright lights except the usual store lights, no new soap, no new face cream, nothing, just riding in my car, doing a little shopping. My only exposure to the outside was to walk from the car to the store and back, then later in the day, my face and chest start to hurt and get red.

My husband says I had a close encounter and just don't remember it (he's soooo sympathetic, lol) but the truth is actually wierder. Both times, I was shopping in the Southwyck area AND at Spring Meadows. In January, I was at Toys R Us on Reynolds and then at Best Buy in SM, Saturday I was at Menards on Airport then drove up Reynolds to go to the Perrysburg Target. This coincidence is freaking me out.

OK, that's about it. I'm going to the doc today to see what he has to say. I'll check back later to see if anyone has any idea what this is. Thanks for listening.

This article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunburn, in Wikipedia gives some interesting facts. Certain perscriptions and oral contraceptives can increase sensitivity to sun. The closer to noon the greater the risk.

A sun allergy is an immune system reaction to sunlight, most often, an itchy red rash. The most common locations include the "V" of the neck, the back of the hands, the outside surface of the arms and the lower legs. In rare cases, the skin reaction may be more severe, producing hives or small blisters that may even spread to skin in clothed areas.

Sun allergies are triggered by changes that occur in sun-exposed skin. It is not clear why the body develops this reaction. However, the immune system recognizes some components of the sun-altered skin as "foreign," and the body activates its immune defenses against them. This produces an allergic reaction that takes the form of a rash, tiny blisters or, rarely, some other type of skin eruption.

Sun allergies occur only in certain sensitive people, and in some cases, they can be triggered by only a few brief moments of sun exposure. Scientists do not know exactly why some people develop a sun allergy and others do not. There is evidence, however, that some forms of sun allergy are inherited.

let us know what the doctor says - if it's a close encounter, instead, it'll make a great news story.LOL

j--yeah, I wasn't out that long, only a parking lot walk and I always get my info from 3 sources before I trust it, I beens on da intrawebs a looong time. thx.

olds--thanks for that, I'll check it out when I get home. No meds were in my system in Jan that are there now and BC pills are not in the picture either. I knew about that possibility but didn't check the wiki, might be some new info, thanks.

moms--no, not windburn, both days were calm, tho cold, and last Saturday was a pretty mild day overall. Wish it were that easy, but we had already ruled that out. I'll report back later tonight and let you know. :)

Mags--that's a new one. it occurred to me that it might be something inside instead of outside, but the pattern of the burn, it's not really a 'rash', is so specific on me that I couldn't imagine how it could be coming from inside. The only affected parts are my face and neck, and one side more than the other, it's just too wierd. thanks for your input. I almost hope it's a close encounter, except for the butt probe part.....
:D

This happened to my Wife. We went down to Mid-Ohio raceway, about a month ago, and it was cold, rainy, and windy, and my wife got a pretty bad sun burn. She laughed at me, when I put on Sun screen, but you can bet, the next day, she had sun screen on :)

HI mage, thanks for your reply but it's not quite the same thing. I wasn't sitting out in the weather, I wasn't hardly out at all, just walking across a parking lot a couple of times. I always use sunscreen when I need to, after almost being hospitalized with sun poisoning on a trip to Florida in '80. I never laugh at the sun anymore.

actually, cam, I think it's a government conspiracy to make us BELIEVE they're trying to kill us all off. :)

ok, went to the doctor and he has no idea what could have happened, so he gave me a cream to take care of the redness and itching and suggested I see a dermatologist. I'll be healed before I can get in to him, but I just may do that anyway.

It has been suggested that maybe it was radiation from the 2 laptops I set up Saturday afternoon. I was back and forth in front of them for 2-3 hours, doing this and that. I've also been setting up a new machine for a friend of mine for the past week, spending a few hours at her house every night. Could that really be it? (I'm scoffing at myself for even typing this, but I have to get it out of my head.) The thing is, I didn't do that in January. I wasn't anywhere near any new machines then, and the burn is the same.

My bro-in-law and his friend, paramedics in Findlay, say it could have been a microwave pulse that might have been magnified by the unshielded passenger window of our 99 Tacoma, but it seems damn odd that I would be in just the right place to catch something like that 2 times in one year. I mean, wouldn't that be like 2 lightning strikes? (Yeah, I know that happens, just can't believe it happened to me).

Also, if that kind of thing were happening in the vicinity of Southwyck or Spring Meadows, wouldn't there be more people affected? Do you have to just happen to be driving by in an old car? People do that by the hundreds every day out there, you would think that someone would have said something by now. Maybe I'll call the Blade, Roberta would love this. ;p

you could wait for the next sunny day (or limited cloud cover) and got outside for a bit to see if it happens again ... not always the best of solutions, but it could rule out a microwave pulse and radiation from laptops ... of course, it might not rule out the close encounter - they've been known to happen in daytime as well as night. LOL

Not sure what I was doing or what I was taking in January, but Saturday the 17th and yesterday (yes, it happened again), I was standing/sitting under a fluorescent lamp at my workbench in my basement for hours, working on a computer on the 17th and playing Guitar Hero 3 yesterday.

--One bulb of this lamp is a Sun Lamp bulb from an old grow light.
--For the past 3 weeks, I have been taking ibuprofen off and on for an ear infection and inflammation in my eustachian tube.
--This past week, I tried Advil PM to help me sleep (only 2 doses..it works too good). The sleep agent in this is benedryl.

Today, I find out (good ole interwebs) that both ibuprofen and diphenhydramine make you more sensitive to UV radiation, especially if you have rosacea, which I do.

SO, I basically fried myself by taking these meds and working under a grow lamp. Problem sol-ved, as Mrs. Miller used to say. ;p Can't wait to tell my doctor!